Does the Federal Reserve support labor unions?

[jerard]

Do Unions Work?
What are the economic pros and cons of labor unions?
Douglas Clement - Senior Writer
May 2001
Hailed as saviors of the common man and derided as communist conspiracies, unions have long invited controversy. But what really do they do? What impact does organized labor have on the American economy? And do unions serve useful purposes not measurable in economic terms?
Compensation
Unions argue that they improve the economic well-being of labor by increasing wages and benefits for union members. Indeed, that seems to be the case. Economic theory suggests that unions attempt to exercise market power by constraining competitive forces that might otherwise force wages and benefits down. If the fruits of productive enterprise can be thought of as a pie divided between labor and capital, unions hope to slice the pie in labor's favor. Often, they're able to do so, producing higher wages for union members than nonunion workers receive in the same industry. (To the degree that higher labor costs are subsequently reflected in higher product prices, wage increases will be transitory in real terms, disappearing as inflation eats into them.)
But economists point out that a union slicing the pie to labor's advantage by constraining the labor market is no different than an industrial monopolist increasing profits by fixing prices: It distorts factor costs and creates market inefficiencies that ultimately harm an economy's resource allocation. In general, most economists say, the ability of labor unions to raise wages above competitive levels has a net negative impact on society.

http://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications_papers/pub_display.cfm?id=2154

Are you Fed up already! Then do something about it lmao.

http://www.auditthefed.com/

[tate8]

The Federal Reserve just wants to rape America and we are stupid enough to allow them to do it too.

[joachim]

^^you should take your own advice.

Who cares if we have a slightly higher GDP/capita when the super rich are getting such a large part of that pie in the first place?

It's not all about GDP. Unions allow working class families to earn a living wage. Radical Republicans are trying to bust them up.

[oz]

Unfortunately the average American is too lazy to learn economics.